The Bernard Baran Justice Committee

An Important Affidavit

[Note: The unredacted affidavit is part of the public record. I have, however, reason to believe that the maker might suffer severe retaliation should his identity become generally known. Thus I have tried to redact all material that might reveal his identity.]

Affidavit of xxxxx xxxxxxxxxx

I, xxxxx xxxxxxxxxx, depose and say:

I am employed by the xxxxx in the xxxxx. In my twenty years with xxxxx. And its predecessor xxxxx, I have held various positions. My present position is xxxxx.

I met Bernard Baran around 1980 or 1981. For approximately six months (off and on), Bernie lived in my home at xxxxx in Pittsfield, Massachusetts.

In October of 1984, I lived alone. I had just moved into a small apartment on Dartmouth Street, Pittsfield, after completing a business program at Springfield Business School in Springfield, MA during which time I lived with my sister i n Hartford, CT. I had just gotten back after being away for one year.

A few days after returning I learned that Bernard Baran had been accused of sexually abusing children at ECDC. Police officers came to my home. I think their names were McGuire and Danford.

The police officers told me what Bernie was accused of having done and they accused me of being involved. They said Bernie must have had a partner because it took more than one person to do what he did. They said Bernie was driving around with kids in a car. They accused me of going to the school and of bringing children to my house based on things they claim the “kids said.” They accused me of having been inside the school. They told me they had proof that I was in the school. None of their accusations were true and I told them so. I had never been in the school, ever. Nor did I even own a car at that point.

The police officers told me that Bernie had gonorrhea and that I must have had it, too. I told them that I had never had it, but I thought that Bernie had told me that he had it before I met him.

The police officers had pictures of the inside of my Dartmouth Street apartment. I was shocked and surprised because I kept my doors locked. Until then, I did not know that the police had searched my home. I never saw a search warrant.

The police took me to talk to Dan Ford at the District Attorney’s Office.

Mr. Ford kept going on about my relationship with Bernie. He called me a “fag” repeatedly. He asked if I was a “homosexual” pronouncing the word in a derogatory way and he demanded to know if I was Bernie’s lover.

Mr. Ford accused me of being involved in sexually abusing children. When I denied that I had ever molested children and said that I had no knowledge that Bernie had molested children, he accused me of lying. He said he would come after me next.

When I said I wanted a lawyer if he was accusing me of being involved, Mr. Ford asked me what I was trying to hide.

At another time, I talked to Mr. Ford in a small room in the basement of the courthouse. Other people were there. A court reporter put me under oath before Mr. Ford asked me questions. I think I was testifying in front of a grand jury, but I don’t remember anyone using that term. I do remember telling Mr. Ford under oath that I had no knowledge of Bernie ever sexually abusing children.

Before the trial, I was followed by the police. I was working in my new job in North Adams and I was followed even there by police officers. Rarely a day went by in my drive from Pittsfield to North Adams when I was not pulled over. Occasionally I was given a citation, sometimes I was given a warning and the rest of the time I was just harassed. They made sure I was in fear. I was later shown pictures of myself going in and out of my apartment. Interestingly, I was never stopped on the days when I was going to court. After the trial I moved out of my apartment to get away from the police always watching me, but they still bothered me from time to time.

Mr. Ford subpoenaed me as a witness for the trial. I was required to report to the courthouse every day for nearly two weeks.

I had just started a new job and my boss told me that I was going to lose my job because I could not explain to him what was going on. I was told by Mr. Ford that I was not to discuss the case, the subpoena, or why I was going to court with anyone or I would be arrested. He kept telling this to me over and over again.

When I had to report to court each day a police officer was assigned to guard me. I was kept in a room in the basement of the courthouse which I was not allowed to leave during the duration of the trial. When I had to use the bathroom the officer escorted me to and from the bathroom. When I inquired as to why this was happening I was told I was a witness for the District Attorney.

Mr. Ford told me not to read the newspapers.

One evening during the trial I talked to Bernie’s mother and she told me that I could talk to Bernie’s lawyer.

Mr. Ford told me that I would be arrested if I talked to Bernie’s defense lawyer, Leonard Conway. Mr. Conway did call me, but I told him that I could not talk to him.

In January 1989, I was working at a walk-up service at xxxxx in Pittsfield. There was a long line out the door that day. After waiting in line, a man walked up to me. I had no idea who he was but he knew who I was. He identified himself as David Hanes. He was not there to talk about xxxxx. He told me that he wanted to take back the accusations that he had made about Bernie Baran. He said that he had just said what someone else wanted him to say.

For six years from 1996 to 2002, I was teaching at xxxxx to help students classified as “youth at risk” transition to the workforce. My position was xxxxx and my job was to get in and to train teachers and also to present the program to students first hand. I was in charge of xxxxx, xxxxx, and xxxxx. The curriculum was administered by xxxxx. I was tasked to bring on board several teachers to take my place and to present them with the program and teach them how to teach it after I left. Ultimately I hired three coordinators, one for each county. Among my schools in xxxxx was xxxxx in xxxxx. I taught one special class of from 10 to 18 students selected by the principal as “youth at risk” which meant that they were failing or dropping out of school. In the last year of the program, in a class I taught in xxxxx, I was assigned a student by the name of Peter Hanes, who was a special education student who could not read or write. I had no idea at the time he was assigned to my class who he was. One day I came to realize he was Bernie’s first accuser, Peter Hanes, was in my class when the students were doing projects about how to make a living. The assignment was a written one but as Peter Hanes was unable to write he was allowed to present his assignment orally.

Peter Hanes gave his oral presentation in front of the class about suing for money. Another student started asking questions. Peter bragged that his mom got money because he, Peter, had a gay teacher in day care. He said it was easy. All he had to do was say that his teacher did something to him to get the money even though nothing happened. He said the person who really abused him was his father.

The other students were intrigued and began asking him questions about how this worked. Initially I thought he was just making up a story. It clicked in my mind when he actually mentioned the teacher’s name, Baran. I never confronted him in any way.

After hearing him say this, I contacted the District Attorney’s Office and Bernie’s mother, Bertha. I went to her house and she talked to Bernie’s appeals lawyer and I got on the phone and confirmed the story. He asked me questions. Attorneys in both offices told me that they could not do anything with the information.

SIGNED UNDER PAINS AND PENALTIES OF PERJURY this 24 day of March, 2004.